A Week in Brooklyn
by Pizzagames
Summary: Seto Kaiba was just visiting the States for a meeting, but what goes down during his stay is more than he signed up for. Of all the people in town, he had to run into the Thompson sisters...
1. Chapter 1

The sun seemed to shine directly on Seto Kaiba as he walked down a busy old broken-down Brooklyn sidewalk. The teenager regretted wearing long sleeves today, but no one had informed him that it would be well over 80 degrees, so it really wasn't his fault. Besides, If he stopped to change, he'd become late for a meeting , scheduled for 2:30 PM, for KaibaCorp, a relatively unpopular company. If Seto got his way in this meeting, he figured it would become even more prosperous than what it already was.

That is, if he got there on time.

He had twenty minutes to get to a meeting that was probably half an hour away on foot. Seto refused Roland's earlier offer to drive him there. He insisted he could make it if he walked. He had no money on him for a cab, and he'd surely be late if he turned around now to find Roland, who was currently watching Mokuba, who decided to follow Seto on his brief trip to America.

Seto wondered if there were any shortcuts from his current position to the address he had written down on a piece of paper in his pocket. He didn't want to waste any time going the wrong way, so he decided not to risk coming up with a shortcut in his head. He would more than likely end up lost since he didn't know his way around this town.

Making a wrong turn, much to his dismay, Seto found himself in an overgrown alley between two shabby-looking brick apartments. A dumpster sat in solitude against one wall; the garbage inside giving the alley a foul stench.

Sitting next to the dumpster was an upturned wooden milk crate, and atop the crate was a girl who appeared to be about the same age as Seto. She wore dirty dark blue jeans, held up by a pair of belts, and a camouflage tank top. Her light brown hair was stringy; she didn't look like she had bathed in days.

Seto gave her a disgusted look and shortly turned around, not wanting to waste any time.

"Stop," the girl said in a low, growling tone.

Seto heard the girl, as clear as day dispute the busy Brooklyn street beyond them, but he was in a pinch for time. He decided to ignore her. He couldn't stop for whatever this revolting homeless girl wanted.

"I'll shoot you," she said in a bored tone, ,making Seto stop dead in his tracks.

"What?" He hissed, turning around, but froze when he looked back at her.

The girl held a dull silver gun; its odd-shaped barrel was directed right between Seto's pale blue eyes. A solemn dullness in the stranger's dark glare told Seto she wasn't messing around.

The girl didn't move, and neither did Seto. Ten agonizingly long seconds passed before Seto said, "Do you know who I am?"

"Don't care," she said, standing from her spot by the dumpster, not letting the gun's aim waver.

"What do you want?" Seto asked, slowly regaining his composure. He'd had guns aimed at him before, he'd be okay. He always managed to escape without a scratch.

"Got any money?" The girl asked cooly.

"I've got three dollars," The CEO replied honestly.

"Have anything valuable on you?"

"Valuable- like my watch?" Seto asked, glancing at the silver band on his left wrist, which informed him that he had around fifteen minutes to make it to his destination.

"Maybe." The girl took a step towards the boy, the gun still held steadily toward his forehead. "How much is it worth?"

"I don't know, four hundred dollars?" Seto estimated. This watch had been a present, so obviously Seto didn't know the exact price. He hoped his guess was somewhere close to the real price. Even though it was real silver, the watch wasn't very big or flashy. It had just a small, thin band and a nickel-sized face.

"Liz, are you gonna shoot him?" An innocent voice chimed in from a close but unknown location.

Without moving, the girl who was apparently Liz replied, "Patty, we've been over this!" There was a hint of annoyance in her tone "Don't talk. I'll handle it."

"Okay," the voice said cheerily, then fell silent.

"So your name's Liz?" Seto asked.

"Guess I really will have to shoot you now, huh?" Liz asked with a curt eye roll. "It's fine. Patty's low on ammo anyway."

Seto, not bothering to woner how killing him would give anyone ammunition, snuck a glance at his watch.

"I'm going to be so late," he whined, rather childishly.

"Aw, boo," Liz said sarcastically, closing the gap between her and Seto. She changed her aim now, and the cold barrel now rested under Seto's jaw, angled sideways towards his throat.

"What do I have to give you so that you'll let me go?" Seto asked, shifting his gaze to look at the gun below him. It was sleek, gray in color, with three black triangles near the edge. Liz's finger rested calmly on the trigger.

"I could probably sell the watch for something," she mused.

"Take it," Seto said in almost a smug tone. He could just buy himself another if it really mattered.

Seto slipped the watch off his lightly colored skin and held it out to Liz. She looked at the watch, then at Seto, wondering why he was giving the expensive watch away so easily. Clasping her hand on it, she asked,

"Are you serious? Is this real silver? If you're tricking me and I find out later, you can bet your sorry ass that I'll find you."

"I'm sure you will," Seto said, slipping around the brick corner and into the busy city sidewalk, leaving his watch in Liz's dirty hands.

"Alright, Patty," Liz said, pulling up the strap to her tank top. "Let's go. This isn't gonna sell itself..."

"Okay, sis!" Patty said, reverting from her gun form to stand next to her sister. "Oooh, that's shiny," she said, observing the watch.

"Yup," Liz said, sliding it into her pocket.

"Hey Liz?" Patty asked, looking up at her older sister.

"Hm?"

"Do you ever think we'll see that guy again?"

"I don't know," Liz said, lighting a cigarette she had taken from someone's pocket that morning.

"He dresses funny," the younger girl said, looking around the corner at all the people rushing around in the heat.

"Yep," Liz said, leading her sister out of the alley.

**A/N:**

**K: This one's pretty much all mine. I know, it's short, but please review anyway! **


	2. Chapter 2

"Please? Just, like, two more days."

"No."

"That's not fair, Seto!"

"It's perfectly fair."

"How?" Mokuba asked bitterly, practically in his brother's lap, annoyed by his decision to leave for home tomorrow.

"Because I said so, so there."

"That was mature," the eleven-year-old replied, narrowing his eyes.

"Mmm," Seto grunted, continuing to flip through channels on the shabby hotel television. He hadn't settled on a

channel in twenty minutes, and Mokuba was wondering if he even cared.

Mokuba fell back against the arm of the loveseat, crossing his arms and glaring at his brother.

_He's no fun, _Mokuba thought with a scowl. _He thinks he can just leave tomorrow without even doing anything fun. There are so many fun things to do here, too_.

"Why are you just going to pass up all the fun stuff here? There's a zoo, an aquarium, a huge park—"

"All that stuff is back home, too," Seto replied, not shifting his eyes from the screen across the room.

"You're mean!" Mokuba suddenly shouted.

"I'm just being realistic," Seto said with a fatigued sigh. "Besides, you have school, so it has to be a weekend trip—"

"Why does it matter if I miss school? You miss school all the time! More than I do!"

The brunette said nothing, pressing the channel button on the remote in a steady rhythm.

"You don't know what fun is," Mokuba said with a pout, jumping from his spot on the small floral-patterned couch and towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Seto asked in a low voice, pulling his gaze away from the television.

Mokuba's reply was simply an abrupt door slam, and over the TV, Seto heard loud footsteps disappearing down an unfamiliar hallway.

With one more push of a button, the TV was turned off, the remote was tossed onto the couch where Mokuba was sitting prior, and Seto Kaiba was in pursuit of his brother down the hall, not stopping to put on his shoes.

**oOo**

"So now what?" The blonde asked, taking the last slice of pizza from the warm box.

"I don't know," the elder replied, finishing her own slice of pizza. "We've never had this much cash at once, have we? We should spend it wisely. Save it for something..."

Patty Thompson nodded, her short hair bobbing eagerly. "Do you think we should hide it then? Wouldn't it be cool if we hid it under a treasure chest underground? We'd be pirates then! Arr!" Patty laughed, squinting one eye shut and doing her best pirate imitation.

"Yeah, that could be cool," Liz said with a hearty smile. "But we'd need a ship! We can't afford a ship with six hundred dollars, well, not a pirate ship, at least."

"We could get a rowboat, and be pirates in a rowboat!" Patty said with wide eyes, imagining the two of them, clad in eye patches and bandanas donning skulls, in a row boat in the middle of the ocean. Maybe even a parrot for good measure, perching on one of their shoulders.

"That would be hilarious," Liz said, grinning wider at her little sister. "Well, anyway, this money won't last forever. Just because we have it doesn't mrean we take a break from our normal lives. We should continue gathering money from people, and keep our reputation up. Okay?"

"Okay!" Patty said in reply, giving her sister a brief salute to show her understanding.

Liz took their empty pizza box and threw it into a nearby dumpster. Wiping her fingers on her already grimy jeans, she turned to face her sister. "It's starting to get dark," she noted, looking at the pinking sky. "We could maybe go downtown and get some new clothes, before all the stores close."

"Okay," Patty said again, following her sister out of the alley they had their dinner in and onto the sidewalk.

_This is the first time in over a year we've been able to buy clothers instead of stealing them from a store or a person, _Liz thought, clenching her stack of riches in her pocket. _Maybe we could find that rich-looking guy again and take something else from him. He didn't really seem to care. But anyway, just because we have money now, __why does that mean we have to buy things now? Why did I say that? Clothes can be expensive. We should just steal new ones, like always. Why did I say that? _As Liz internally fought with herself, Patty walked at her side, probably still thinking about being a pirate.

Neither of the sisters spoke to each other as they walked side by side to the busier side of town. Liz scanned the surrounding people attentively, half-hoping to see the brunette kid again. Something about him seemed off. She'd never seen him before. Someone like him would seem to stick out in a crowd, even around here, whether it was his height or his formal and un-harmonized appearance or something about his constant calm behavior.

_He's probably going to be skipping town soon, he looked like he was in a hurry to get somewhere earlier, _Liz thought. _Someone as important-looking as him should be somewhere more important, like Washington DC or Hollywood... Or something._

"What are you thinking about, sis?" Patty asked, taking her sisters hand and looking up into her serious blue eyes.

"Nothing."

"You can't be thinking of nothing, silly! That's impossible! You have to always be thinking something. Unless you're dead. But you're not dead."

"Nuh uh," Liz argued childishly, not looking at her sister.

"Uh huh!"

Wanting this conversation to end, Liz quickly lied, "I'm thinking about where we're going to sleep tonight. We can't just sleep anywhere; we've got a lot of money with us. Maybe someone would have to take watch, so it doesn't get stolen."

"Hmm," Patty mused, obviously believing that was what her sister was thinking about. "Couldn't we get a bank account?"

"No," Liz said quickly. "We need a parent's signature for that, I think. And we need a social security number. I don't know mine. I don't even know if either of us have one. I don't think we were born in a hospital, so I don't think we were registered with a social security number and everything, right?"

"Yeah, that's true," Patty said dejectedly.

"And I think most banks are closed at this hour anyway. We'd spend a lot of time trying to find one that's open, and there might not even be any. So we'll still need arrangements for tonight."

With a frown, Patty let go of her sister's hand, and they both returned to their own thoughts.

Even though the sun was setting and the darkness was settling in the town, the streets were still busy, the sidewalks still crowded.

Liz wanted to tell her sister to forget shopping, and that she just wanted to find a safe place to sleep for the night before it got too dark, but before she could turn her head to face Patty, or even open her mouth to speak, an aggressive pair of arms wrapped around her, covering her face. Before she could react any further than widening her eyes, she lost her grip on consciousness, and fell as darkness took over her vision.

**A/N: Okay, so there it is. Sorry, I probably could have finished this sooner, but I'm grieving over Snape again—I mean, I'm sad in general because Harry Potter ended. So that's my excuse for being lazy. Yeah.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm just gonna skip all the excuses, and just say I've been lazy. But thanks for waiting!**

"Seto, what's going on? Where are we?"

"I have no idea," Seto replied, running his hand along a stone wall of what seemed to be a rectangular cell. He looked up. The dim light from four torches posted on the walls didn't illuminate a ceiling. It seemed to go on forever.

"This place smells bad," Mokuba mused with abhorrence.

"I know."

"Is this my fault?"

"Of course not," he told Mokuba sincerely and without hesitation. Although his head hurt and his memory seemed rather hazy, Seto remembered chasing Mokuba out of the hotel after his dramatic exit. Mokuba had seen those two girls be knocked out by some rather strong looking men, and despite his childish stature, decided to intervene. As soon as Seto was under the impression that his brother was in danger, he jumped to his aid without thought. With no success, Seto and his brother must have also been knocked out, because Seto remembered nothing aside from waking up in here in a panic.

Maybe he felt justified to blame his brother, but he wouldn't say anything about it. From the looks of things, they could be in here for a while and Seto didn't want to be trapped in here with an angry Mokuba.

"Don't you have your phone?" Mokuba asked, sitting in the corner where he had woken up. "Can you call someone to help us? Or find out where we are?"

"I left it in the hotel," Seto admitted.

Mokuba was silent, looking down guiltily at the dusty floor. Seto continued pacing along the narrow walls.

There was an eerie echoing noise from above them, causing Seto to believe there was no ceiling and wind was blowing. But no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't see anything besides endless darkness.

"This _is _all my fault," Mokuba whined after a while, looking up at his brother sadly. The dim flames moved shadows on his face, making him look younger and more frightened. It reminded Seto of when Mokuba was six and was always asking Seto to sleep in his room with him to keep away monsters. Just like then, he now felt obligated to comfort him.

"No, it isn't," he said sternly, crouching to Mokuba's level. "I would have done exactly what you did if I were you," he lied.

"That isn't like you," Mokuba said, tilting his head in obvious disbelief.

Seto sighed. "I know." It had been worth a shot.

Mokuba apologized, and Seto sat against the wall with his brother.

The younger boy looked around, first at the copper colored door, and then at the opposite wall. Seto had already tried the door, but there was no knob and it appeared to open inward. Seto knew what was on the other side of the cell, and watched Mokuba's eyes as he noticed too.

"Are those chains, for like, chaining people up?" he asked, pointing around his brother at the pile of rusted metal.

Seto nodded.

"This place keeps getting creepier."

"Yeah." This certainly wasn't how he had planned his trip to go. What kind of place was this, anyway? Were they still in America?

"I hear footsteps," Mokuba said, his voice faltering to an alarmed whisper.

Seto held his breath as he also heard approaching footsteps. They were getting closer at a leisurely pace. They sounded too heavy to be from a woman, and as they got closer Seto became sure it was a man. How this would help him, he didn't know, but he wanted something to think about regardless. They stopped outside the old-looking door. Mokuba took Seto's hand for comfort.

There was a faint click and the door opened, inwardly and silently. A man stood in the dim hall outside, crossing his arms impatiently.

Neither Kaiba boy spoke, so the man was the first to speak. "You aren't even from here. I don't see why they had to bring you too. And put you in here. There are guest facilities up a floor, why didn't they put you there?" It seemed more like he was talking himself, so neither boy responded. "Well, come on," the man said, gesturing them to come outside to the dark hall beyond. Mokuba stood first, and Seto followed, still holding Mokuba's hand.

"They told me to take you to a guest room," he said, sounding distant like he was talking to himself. "Hey, wait—Can you guys understand me, or what? You haven't said anything."

"Of course we can understand you, we just have nothing to say to you," Seto replied icily.

"What did I do? I'm not the one who brought you here. I'm just a regular janitor. Except right now I'm acting as a guard."

"Speaking of here, where are we?" Mokuba asked. Seto could tell he was nervous, and didn't blame him. The janitor seemed a little strange.

"Well, you're in the basement of a school called the DWMA."

"Which stands for?"

"Death Weapon Meister Academy."

"Uh, what?" Mokuba asked, changing his grip on Seto's hand.

The janitor thought for a moment. "It's a school for two types of kids, the Weapons and the Meisters. We needed the Thompson sisters; they're weapons. You guys just ticked off the guys who were bringing them here, and so you ended up here. You'll be able to go soon."

"What?" Mokuba asked, not understanding.

"Never mind," The guard said, shaking his head. He led them up a chipped stone staircase and into the second door on the left. It didn't look much different from the cell they came from, it was still dusty with stone walls, but in addition, there were several windows near the ceiling and a cot.

"Are you kidding?" Mokuba asked what Seto was thinking. "This is like prison!"

The janitor frowned. "This wasn't my choice. Now I'm supposed to say something like, 'Enjoy your night,' and inform you that someone from staff will contact you tomorrow.

After his footsteps echoed away from the locked steel door, Seto looked back at the room behind him. What the hell was going on?

**A/N: I bet you didn't think the story would go this way... And neither did I, to be honest. I was hoping for a longer chapter, but usually my chapters for anything fall pretty short of my expectations. Anyway, I hope to have another update by the end of the month, so stay tuned! I love you aaaaaaaaaaall :D**


	4. Chapter 4

The morning had caught up with Seto after a wait that felt three times as long as it probably was. He had been up most of the night, unable to sleep. The reason for that was mainly because he was trying to sleep on a dusty stone floor, after immediately giving up the old cot to Mokuba. He had been leaning against the wall by the door for about half the night. If he had fallen asleep, it couldn't have been for more than an hour.

Finally, the sun shone through a high window, a narrow beam of light reaching his shoes. It barely lit the room. He could now see Mokuba's darkened figure sprawled on the cot. It had taken Mokuba hours to fall asleep, somewhere around the time the dual candles by the door had burned out.

Seto looked up at the darkened ceiling. Of all things, he wondered why those girls had been kidnapped in the first place. One of them had been the girl that took his watch, Liz. What did that janitor creep mean when he said that they were weapons? Maybe it had something to do with that strange-looking gun... But for some reason, he couldn't accept any idea he thought up about those two.

"Seto?" He heard Mokuba roll over on the cot. _Talking in his sleep_, Seto concluded.

The light moved with the sun, retreating from Seto across the room. It felt like time passed slower than ever. If they weren't supposed to be there, why couldn't they leave? Was this a prison? How could it be a school? Seto observed the room again. The dust and cobwebs obviously meant it hadn't been used in a long time. But still, no school he'd ever heard of had prison-like cells beneath it.

"Seto?" Mokuba asked again, more urgently. Seto froze, once again determining his brother was talking in his sleep.

"Where did you go? You left me there," Mokuba said quietly. Seto watched his brother roll over once again. "Why? That's not fair," the boy whined.

Seto stood up and stretched. His back hurt from sitting in such an awkward position for so long.

"Mokuba, wake up," Seto said, tapping his arm.

"Why?" Mokuba asked, and Seto was unsure whether or not he was sleeping.

However, Mokuba asked the question again, and through the darkness Seto could see he opened an eye slightly. Now that Mokuba was awake, Seto needed to quickly think of his reason for waking him. He wasn't sure why he had done it in the first place. He quickly tried to think of something, but to no avail. "I think you were having a bad dream," he said at last.

"Really? I don't remember," Mokuba said, frowning.

"That's okay," Seto said. "You can go back to sleep if you want."

"Nah, I think I've gotten enough sleep." Mokuba sat up, and Seto wished he could say the same. "I'm sorry for making you sleep on the floor," Mokuba added.

"That was my own choice."

Mokuba stood up and looked out the window where the sun was coming from. "What time do you think it is?" He asked.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure, but I'd guess sometime around 8am."

"Oh." Mokuba continued looking up toward the window. "Why can't we go home?"

"I'm wondering the same thing."

And then the door opened with a creak that made Seto shudder. Had it done that last night? He couldn't remember.

"Hello," the man in the doorway said, straightening his tie. Seto said nothing, only returning his greeting with a cold stare. After a pause, the man said, "tough crowd." He smirked at his own attempt at a joke.

"This isn't a joke," Seto said, rolling his eyes.

"Okay," he said, raising his hands in a gesture for peace. "Anyway, I'm supposed to take you-"

"Somewhere else where we can be locked up, right?" Seto asked, hearing his brother step behind him for some sort of protection.

"Uh, no, actually. I was going to take you guys to get some food... You're hungry, right? Those idiots didn't leave anything here for you."

Seto narrowed his eyes. Should he trust this guy? Should he trust anyone here? After all, he had basically been kidnapped.

"Oh, cut the attitude," the man said, waving an arm, gesturing for the boys to leave with him. "Just come on."

Seto didn't move, and Mokuba followed his lead.

"You gotta at least be thirsty or something, right?" The man sighed, stepping fully inside the room. "What's your problem?" he asked Seto, who continued to silently stare at the man. He didn't look like someone who should be here in this dusty prison-like place. But then again, Seto knew that he and his brother didn't belong in this dusty prison-like place.

"My problem is this place. What else would it be?" Seto replied finally.

The man rolled his eyes. "Right. Because you think you're better than us or something."

"You don't know who I am?"

"Am I supposed to?" He shook his head. "Just... Come on. We can walk and talk."

Seto opened his mouth to speak, but Mokuba replied for him. "That would be great. Sorry, Seto's just stubborn." And with that, Mokuba stepped out from behind his brother to the man in a suit.

On the inside, Seto was whining childishly. That probably had something to do with his lack of sleep. On the outside, however, his expression remained unchanged as he followed Mokuba, who was following the stranger. He left the door wide open as he exited into the hallway once more.

"What exactly is this place, anyway?" Mokuba asked, obviously more comfortable with asking questions than Seto.

"Death City," the man replied, leaning back in his chair. Seto thought the man seemed smug.

"Where's that?" Mokuba asked, sounding disbelieving. _What a strange name, _Seto thought.

"Not important. Look, you guys will get home soon, I promise. Where are you from?"

"You seriously don't know, do you?" Seto asked.

The man shook his head, a bored expression set on his face.

"I'm Seto Kaiba, owner of Kaiba Corp. I assume you've never heard of that company, though."

"Nope."

"Have you ever heard of Duel Monsters?" Mokuba asked cheerfully. Once again, the answer was no. _What kind of place was this?_

"You think you're really important, don't you?" The man asked, seeming smug once again. "Fine. I'll see about getting you back home." He stood then, and left the room in which Seto and Mokuba had received their breakfast in. Seto heard him mutter, "You coulda learned something here, too," but pretended not to notice.

Now the Kaiba brothers were the only ones left in the tiny room. It looked like some kind of office. If it had been any other place, Seto would have looked around in attempt to figure out where he was. He didn't, though, because for some reason he didn't think it would help him.

"Do you think we're safe here?" Mokuba asked.

Before Seto could reply, the door opened again. Both boys turned to look toward the noise of the door hitting the wall as it swung open, and in the doorway stood the Thompson sisters.

"What are you doing here?" Liz asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I could ask you the same thing," Seto replied smoothly. _What a strange reunion this would be, _he thought.

**A/N: I suppose I shouldn't tell you guys this, but I have no idea what I'm doing. I hope this chapter isn't too bad. Wait... Two updates in the same month? Yep, maybe updates will get a bit more frequent. :D Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

"So yeah, I guess we kind of live here now," Liz said, sitting across from Seto. She took another bite of her bagel. She was halfway through her second, and she had barely been sitting for two minutes. Patty was in the seat to Seto's left. "This place is called Death City. What a strange name," she said with her mouth still full from her last bite. "And there's a giant school in the middle of it."  
>"Do you know when Mokuba and I can go home?" Seto asked her, completely disregarding her last statement. Besides, it had already been clarified several times as to where he was.<br>"Have some patience," the girl replied, finishing the bagel and adjusting her hat. Now that she had apparently been here a few days, she had changed her clothes and cleaned up. She looked older now, more like an average teenager as opposed to a homeless girl. _Maybe better than average_, Seto thought as he watched her reach for another bagel.  
>"I was just getting to that," she continued, causing Seto to blink out of his thoughts. He waited for her to explain. "So, uh, from what I know, Patty and I were chosen to work with this other guy to solve missions and stuff. I don't think you'd understand. It deals with souls and stuff. It's a long story. I barely get it myself. Anyway, we're going to go all over the world on these missions." She paused, looking unsure of what to say. Before Seto could inquire anything more, Patty spoke up.<br>"We're gonna go on a mission and take you home while we're out," she said bluntly.  
>Liz nodded to her sister, smiling. "It might be a few days, though. I know nothing."<br>"Yeah, I'm sure _that's _fine," Seto said sarcastically. "I mean, we've already wasted enough time here."  
>Mokuba frowned. "I don't like it here," he stated.<br>"I'm sorry," Liz said. "I can try to get you somewhere nicer. From what I hear, you're underground? That sucks. I'll see what I can do about that later."  
>Mokuba's frown didn't falter as he slumped back into his seat. Seto tried to comfort him, but that resulted in just awkwardly placing his hand on his brother's shoulder.<br>At that moment, sharp footsteps were heard in the hall outside. Four pairs of eyes turned to look at the door as it opened.  
>The kid who opened the door didn't at all look older than Seto. He was dressed in a clean black and white suit, and Seto suddenly wondered if he was underdressed. Then again, Liz was wearing normal clothes. He glanced across the table at her. She was looking at the stranger with an eyebrow raised. Perhaps it was the other way around, and the new boy was overdressed.<br>"Hello," the stranger said, keeping his expression blank. Seto did the same. "My name's Death the Kid. You all my call me Kid."  
><em>Great, so he's got an attitude, too<em>, Seto thought, keeping himself from rolling his eyes. Kid continued his introduction. "I'm going to be working with the Thompson sisters. That would be the two of you, if I'm not mistaken?"  
>Liz nodded. "I'm Liz," she said, smiling. Gesturing to her sister, who was intently staring at a bagel, she said, "That's Patty."<br>"It's nice to meet you both." He turned abruptly, looking Seto in the eye. "Would you care to introduce yourself, or are you going to continue glaring at me?"  
>Seto couldn't help himself as he rolled his eyes. "I'm Seto Kaiba." He figured he <em>could <em>have been a bit more specific, but from the looks of it, Kid probably wouldn't have cared. "This is my brother Mokuba."  
>"Brothers?" Kid looked at the boys. "Yeah, I can kind of see it in the eyes. Can't really tell over your glare, though." Turning his attention back to the girls, he said, "Okay, so can we go see what you guys can do?"<br>"Uh sure," Liz said, surprised.  
>"Oh wait," Kid said, shaking his head, "My father told me to give you guys a tour first." He turned in the doorway. "You and Mokuba can come, if you so wish, Seto," he added.<br>After they were out of the room, Kid put his hands in his pockets, admiring the sunlit hall that the group now stood in.  
>"Right now, you're in the school," Kid explained. "I don't go here, but lots of kids do. A lot of things are taught here. Believe me, it's no ordinary school."<br>He led the group down the hall, passing spotless floor-to-ceiling windows that revealed an almost neon blue sk. Opposite the windows were identical doors, all completely shut. These seemed to be classrooms, and class was in. There was silence from the other side, causing Seto to wonder what exactly was taught here.  
>At the end of the hall was a staircase. Kid stopped for a minute, looking between the up and the down side. Was he trying to figure out where to go?<br>"What's wrong?" Liz asked him.  
>"Oh, nothing," Kid replied. "I was just admiring the stairs. They're perfect as always."<br>As he gestured to the right, leading them upstairs, Patty circled a finger over her hear and made a face as if to say he was crazy. Seto internally agreed.

By now, classes were out and the five of them were no longer the only ones aimlessly wondering about the halls. All the halls were basically the same; there wasn't much for Kid to tour. Some people stopped and shot a second glance in Seto's direction as he passed by. Perhaps his face wasn't completely unknown here?  
>From what Seto gathered, this 'school' was huge and busy. Really busy. How had it stayed so silent a few minutes ago?<br>"How many people go here?" Seto couldn't help but ask as he looked inside one of the large classrooms.  
>"I'm not sure," Kid replied. "Maybe two thousand?"<br>"That's impossible," Seto said, widening his eyes.  
>"It's very possible. This is the only school like this in the entire country. It's very efficient here, and self-contained. The students all live in the city. They get allowances for food and they can get temporary jobs if need be, so there usually aren't any major problems with money and such."<br>"What, and no parents?"  
>"Typically, no, unless they're staff. But sometimes they attend classes just like the kids. If you're a weapon or a meister, you're welcome here no matter what age."<br>"Why didn't we come here before, then?" Seto heard Liz ask quietly. Patty shrugged, but Liz didn't see.  
>Kid stopped once more, and pointed at a large bulletin board on the wall. "That's where the students' missions are posted. That won't apply to you, though, so I won't get into specifics about it."<br>"Why won't it apply?" Liz asked.  
>"We don't go to this school. Maybe we will someday, but as of now we don't. Our missions will be separate, assigned from the headmaster himself."<br>Liz nodded, but Seto could tell that she was still confused. He didn't blame her; he wasn't sure what he meant either.  
>Starting back down the hall, Kid said nothing. There was chattering from all over the crowded hall and Seto only really listened to Patty, when she addressed Mokuba.<br>"Hey," She said, as if just noticing his presence. "I like your hair."  
>"Uh, thanks," Mokuba said.<br>Well, that was random, Seto thought as he glanced back at his brother. He was self-consciously tugging his hair, smiling for the first time since he had been here. Seto smirked at Mokuba's sheepish expression before turning back to face forward. In the process of turning his head back, he noticed Liz had also been watching the siblings. Instead of smirking, Like Seto had, she had a full smile. Then she looked at Seto, who then let his expression fall. As if to shake off the moment of eye contact, he asked Kid: "So what's this tour for, anyway?"  
>Kid shrugged. "Just to get to know the Thompsons. You guys got to come because you happened to be there."<br>"Well, that's great and all," Seto said, aware of his rudeness, "But can my brother and I just go home? I have important things to attend to."  
>"Oh, I'm sure your important things can wait."<br>"You have no idea, do you? I am the president of one of the largest companies in the world. I need to get back. No offense, but I don't care about this stupid school!"  
>Kid said nothing after Seto's short outburst. Not even his expression changed. He looked distant, but Seto was certain that Kid had heard what he just said. Seto was really starting to hate this boy.<br>"I'm sure this beats sitting around in the basement," he said calmly. "You may be here for a while. I suggest you stay on my good side if you want to be out of that dreary room."  
>"How long are we going to be here?" Mokuba asked.<br>Kid thought. "Eight days, maybe?" he guessed.  
>"Why eight?" Mokuba asked, seeming to begin a game of twenty questions.<br>"I don't know. I just like the number."  
>"Why?"<br>"It's perfect, of course. It's symmetrical when you fold it in half." He drew an eight in the air with a finger.  
>"What if you folded it in half diagonally?" Patty asked.<br>Kid stopped drawing eights midair. "I don't like you," he concluded, looking offended.  
>"Aw, that's no fair," Patty said dejectedly. Liz reached back to Patty and placed a hand on her shoulder, smiling. The gesture seemed much more effective than when Seto had earlier tried to comfort Mokuba. Patty was now smiling, seeming unfazed by what Kid had just said to her. Perhaps she forgot. It wouldn't have surprised Seto.<br>"If you don't go to school, then what do you do all day?" Mokuba asked, resuming his go of questions.  
>"Mostly, I just go to my father's office and help with random work and such. Now that I have Liz and Patty, though, I have a feeling that's going to change."<br>"Can we go to the office?" Mokuba asked.  
>"Uh, no. You guys aren't even students," Kid exclaimed, shaking his head at the thought. "You won't even be here that long; we're trying to get you home as soon as possible."<br>"Say, Kid," Liz said before Mokuba could ask another question. "Seto and Mokuba are going to be here a while, right?" Kid nodded. "Do you think that instead of staying in the basement you mentioned earlier, that I hear isn't all that fancy or sanitary, that Seto and his brother could stay with us?" She looked over and smiled at Seto. He didn't look away this time.  
>"What, at my place? It's not all that great there… But I suppose it beats the guest accommodations here… Maybe. I'd have to get permission."<br>Seto said nothing. Kid seemed to have let the conversation falter there.  
>"You're welcome," Liz said to Seto, who was still watching Liz smile.<br>Seto blinked. Was she expecting him to say thank you? Not even a week ago, she had been threatening to take his life. He had no reason to thank her. She practically owed him this. However, despite his thoughts, he found himself nodding nonverbal thanks. She smiled and looked away just as quickly as he did.  
>"You should at least have the decency to say something to her,' Kid said from in front of them. "She did just get you out of DWMA's dungeons."<br>Seto rolled his eyes again. Kid obviously didn't see the nod, and didn't want to explain how he shouldn't exactly be thankful as much as reimbursed. "Thanks," He said shortly.  
>"See, that wasn't so hard."<br>That boy was really starting to get on Seto's nerves.


	6. Chapter 6

A week had passed. It had felt like the slowest week of Seto's life. There was nothing for him to do besides sit around, relying on Kid to get him home. Despite staying as a guest in his home, Seto didn't see Kid very much. During most of his days thus far, Kid had been out, apparently training with Liz and Patty. They were usually out most of the day, leaving Seto and Mokuba to themselves. For the past three days, the boys had been wandering around the strange city that contained them. They couldn't just leave, or else Seto probably would have. Two things kept him from leaving: he didn't know where on Earth (if it even was Earth) Death City even was, and Mokuba's curiosity.

"I'm sure Kid's working on something for us," Mokuba had said, trying to make the best of things. From what Seto had noticed, Mokuba was quite happy here. He was almost certain that Mokuba would be okay with staying here for weeks longer. Well, _he_ didn't have a multimillion dollar company to run. Seto was getting more and more impatient as the days went on.

The next time Seto saw Kid was the night after Mokuba began making friends. Of course, that threw a wrench in Seto's 'leaving and never coming back' plans, but he'd never say that to Mokuba. He was happy, and Seto didn't have it in him anymore to deny his happiness. No matter how happy he was that Mokuba was, he was still rather selfish, and would continue his pestering Kid to get him home.

It was late now, maybe past midnight. Seto hadn't been watching a clock. He'd only been focused on confronting Kid, tonight.

Liz and Patty walked through the darkened room where Seto sat, obviously not noticing him. They look exhausted, Seto noticed as he watched them through the dark. For a second he wondered what they really do all day, but his curiosity was forgotten when Kid stopped in the middle of the room, watching Liz and Patty retreat upstairs wordlessly.

It was just the two of them now. Seto was sure Kid was aware of his presence. Aside from a clock on a wall that acknowledged each passing second in a steady tick, it was noiseless. Seto decided to break the silence, when he spat, "I hope you still plan on getting me and my little brother home."

"As soon as possible, of course," Kid replied casually. Seto narrowed his eyes through the dark, unsure if Kid was sincere or just mocking him.

"Listen here," Seto threatened, rising to his feet. "I don't care who you are. I don't care what you do all day. At this point, I no longer even care about why I was brought here in the first place." Seto struggled to keep his voice low. By now, he had crossed the room and was now towering before Kid. "Right now, all I want is for you to take us home."

"Why do you think you're so important?" Kid asked. He casually reached behind him and switched on a lamp.

Seto was outraged. "I could say the same to you," he said, keeping his voice low.

Kid scoffed. He turned away, ending the conversation. At that moment, Seto couldn't help himself. For just a second, he let his anger get the best of him. In the form of a fist. In Kid's smug little face.

When he punched Kid, he immediately regretted it as he stood over the boy who was now lying on the ground. However, at the same time, he felt that Kid had deserved that for a long time coming. Seto didn't think he had hit him that hard, but there Kid lay, clutching his face. Maybe Seto had broken his nose. Kid was silent, and Seto was too as he stood there glaring over the boy.

He turned off the last dim lamp as he exited, leaving Kid behind, moaning on the white carpet.

Seto absolutely could not sleep. He stood at the large window in his guest bedroom that overlooked some outskirt of Death City. The whole city was silent, all probably sleeping. Everyone was asleep except Seto, who was now pacing around the spotless bedroom.

It had been two hours since he shut himself in the room. He hadn't heard Kid come upstairs. Not that he cared, though. It probably wasn't the best idea to have hurt Kid like that, especially if Kid was his ticket home. Despite this probable setback, Seto was still hopeful that he'd be home within a few days.

He stopped pacing, and once again looked out the window. The view hadn't changed in the past few minutes. He resumed pacing. It was a routine by now, as he checked the clock on the empty desk. 3:26. Seto didn't feel tired.

He couldn't take it here, in this house, in this city. Everything was too perfect inside, too out of the ordinary outside. Next time Seto stopped to look out the window, he stayed there longer than he had any of those other times. Now, he was trying to think of a way out of this on his own. He hadn't spoken to an adult in days, it was like there were none around here. The highest authority he seemed to be able to get to was Kid, and some help he was being. He didn't know what to do.

"Why did this happen?" Seto asked quietly aloud, his breath appearing on the window before him. "I shouldn't have gone to New York. It wasn't an important meeting anyway. I could have had someone else go in for me."

As if the window suddenly disgusted Seto, he turned away from it abruptly. "What do you want?" He asked Liz, who was now standing in his doorway._ When did she get here?_

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"Fine, I'm fine. What do you want?" He asked again, sounding more tired than he actually felt.

"I just wanted to check on you. I had to use the bathroom, and your light was on."

"I forgot to turn it off," Seto said dumbly. Suddenly, he realized that his fatigue had caught up with him.

Liz crossed her arms. "It's late, and you haven't slept, have you?"

Seto shrugged. "I don't see how that matters. I've had plenty of all-nighters before."  
>"Go to sleep. You're tired."<br>"You're not my mother," Seto scoffed. Liz rolled her eyes.

Neither of them spoke as Liz leaned against his doorway, expecting him to say something more. When he didn't, she said, "so, what have you and your brother been up to?"

"It's none of your business," he snapped.

"Your comebacks are so childish."

"Shut up," he replied without thinking. Immediately he regretted that quip as Liz smirked. Seto groaned, turning away. "You should go to bed, too. You've got to be up early for whatever training you do, right?"

"Eh, I'll be tired either way," Liz replied.

"What do you guys even do?"

Liz sighed. "It's a lot of, like, exercising and stuff. Boring, and tiring. Kid's pretty lazy, though, which I don't think is fair..." She trailed off. Seto, who was again facing the window, narrowed his eyes. If Kid was being lazy all day, couldn't he be working on getting them home?

"What does he do, then?"

"He bosses me and Patty around, mostly. Sometimes he's talking to other important-looking people. Well, I'm kind of tired, I guess I should try to get a few more hours of sleep now. I'll see you later." She left abruptly, leaving Seto to glare out the window.

She wasn't gone long, though, because a few minutes later she opened the door once more. "You were talking to Kid before you came up here, right?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, I was. He's not much help to me."

"So, what did you do to him?"

"Uh, I punched him in the face," Seto said towards the window. "Why?"

"Well, I went downstairs to get food, and he was asleep at the kitchen table. Clutching a mirror."

"He's so weird."

"Where did you hit him?"

"His nose." Seto turned around, raising an eyebrow. What did it matter? Then again, he didn't really care.

"Hm, good. At least it's in the middle of his face." Noticing Seto's questioning look, she asked, "haven't you noticed that Kid's a little...obsessive compulsive? He's freaking obsessed with symmetry. It's annoying and childish, but everything has to be perfect for him. I'm glad you didn't punch him on the side or something, because then he'd be literally beating himself up over it just to be symmetrical again."

"Uh, you're welcome then, I guess?"

"Yeah." Liz nodded before retreating from the doorway once more.

Seto was suddenly too tired to continue his foolish plans of escaping the city.

It was after four when he fell asleep, and far too early when Mokuba was up and ready to explore.

"It's barely six," he muttered into his pillow. "Leave me alone."

"You're always a morning person, Seto!" Mokuba whined. "Come on, please?"

"We have all day to look around again, you know."

Mokuba sighed impatiently. "You should go to bed earlier."

Seto continued to bury his face in his pillow. "Whatever," he said irritably. "Can't you just go play with some of your new friends?"

"I don't want to go out without you," Mokuba whined. He continued his argument, but Seto was too tired to comprehend him.

In another hour, the sun was too bright to ignore. Seto rolled out of bed reluctantly, still tired after only three hours. He knew he'd feel better after a few cups of coffee, but he just didn't feel like going downstairs to get any.

He reached above him and pulled the curtains over the broad window. As the curtains were a thin sky blue, it didn't help with the light at all.

Eventually, he felt awake enough to go downstairs. Mokuba sat on Kid's couch, reading a book from the tall shelf behind him. He didn't even notice Seto trudge down the stairs.

Halfway through his second mug of coffee, he caught Mokuba's attention. "Is that book any good?" He asked. He had no idea what Mokuba was reading.

"I don't really understand what's going on," Mokuba said with a shrug. "I'm just looking at the pictures." He flipped the book around and held it up for Seto to see. From what Seto saw, the page Mokuba was showing him contained a black and white sketch of some monster. "It kind of seems real, like a history book."

"Something like that can't be real," Seto said.

"People said that about Duel Monsters, too. Then you took over KaibaCorp." Mokuba turned the book around and flipped through a few more pages. "Someone could always make a monster."

Seto nodded in agreement. "I guess you're right." He set the mug down in the sink.

"So are you ready to go?" Mokuba asked, putting the book back on the shelf.

"I guess," Seto shrugged, looking down at his shirt. He hadn't changed it after waking up, but it was just a little wrinkly. He'd be fine. It's not like the people here knew him and expected him to always be dressed nicely. It wasn't even his shirt, Kid had given it and a few other changes of clothing to him for the next few days. Seto surely wasn't the same size as Kid, and Kid said it was his but the light green tee fit him almost perfectly. He didn't think much of it, though.

He followed Mokuba outside after sliding on his shoes. No sooner than when he shut the double doors to the mansion had he realized Liz had been right. Seto glanced to either side. On each side of the door was a potted plant, each looking nearly identical with a mixture of small red and white flowers. A bench on one side was matched by an identical one on the other. He hadn't noticed until Liz pointed it out to him. Everything about this place was symmetrical.

"Freak," Seto muttered, following Mokuba down the stairs and out to the street.


End file.
